She Will Be Loved
by TheForgottenOne17
Summary: Bella left home when she was 16 because her dad died and it drove her mother to drink. She got into Georgetown early and she's been living in Washington D.C. since. She works as an intern at a publishing firm and she hasn't looked back since. Well, not until now when she runs into somebody from her past.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing but the plot of this story. These wonderful characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

She Will Be Loved – Chapter One

The Capitol was hot and swarming with people and the breeze lifted my long brown hair up behind my shoulders. The 4th of July was in three days, making Washington D.C. one of the busiest places. Since it was my day off, I headed to the Roosevelt Memorial since I had always been drawn there in my free time. In the hot weather, my jean shorts were sticking to my thighs. My old concert t-shirt was starting feel a little grungy, my high-top Converse from high school were falling apart at the seams, and my purse was hitting my leg with each step.

I had my camera out and I was snapping pictures of all the tourists as I made my way to the memorial. I captured a little girl reaching out to her mother as she handed her an ice cream cone and when the little girl dropped the cone onto the sidewalk. I pulled my hair into a ponytail as I crossed the street and made my way around the Tidal Basin to the memorial. It was busy and I tried to find a good bench to sit on once inside but it seemed futile. Instead, I made my way through the memorial and snapped a few pictures here and there.

I made my way out of the memorial and to the sidewalk around the basin. The breeze was a bit cooler there and I pulled my hair down. There seemed to be a lot of people out by the basin, probably because it was cooler there. I found an empty bench to sit on about twenty feet into my walk and I sat down to take a look at my pictures, lots of children with their parents and scenery. I sighed stowing my camera away and thought about how I had to go back to work tomorrow.

I worked as an intern at Wolfe Publishing and I've been there since I graduated from Georgetown. My boss, Victoria, well lets just say we don't see eye to eye. I'm her personal punching bag, so to speak. I do everything from finish her personal assignments at midnight to sending her personal emails. I've been there for two years and I still have yet to move up. At least, she doesn't have a dog and I don't have to scoop shit.

The wind was starting to pick up and I stood up so I could make my way back to my apartment. Just as I was standing up, I heard someone yelling something along the lines of, "Miss! Watch out! Milo, stop!" The voice sounded familiar but I didn't have time to register it as I was hit by a mass of fur. My head hit the ground and pain radiated from my temple to the back of my neck. When I was able to get the mass of fur off, which I figured out was a dog, the someone I had heard yelling was coming closer. I sat up just as the dog ran up to the man and sat on his haunches in front of him.

The man walked around the dog and held out his hand as an offer to help me up. I reached up and took his hand and he pulled me up like I was nothing. I started patting down my clothes before I looked up at him and gingerly touched the back of my head, which was quite tender. When I did look up at the man standing before me I had to do a double take.

"Bella?" he asked.

And, with that single word every single moment from my childhood came rushing back. Every time I had watched a football game, every time I was in the emergency room, every time I was playing with his younger sister, who was my age, and every time I thought of home. Every memory of growing up in that small town came rushing back. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

It brought me back to 8th grade, when a drunk driver killed my dad. Then, in high school when my mom started drinking. I started losing myself in my schoolwork then and got into college the end of sophomore year. I left without out another word and haven't heard anything out of little Forks, Washington, since.

Life used to be normal though, before all of that. My dad, Charlie, was the police chief and my mom, Renee, was a substitute teacher. She was always flitting around to other jobs in between though. I had a normal childhood until my dad died. Then my mom started drinking and the cops would drop her off on our front porch. Needless to say, I left home at 16 without even telling her. I haven't heard from her since I left. If she did try and contact me, she didn't try very hard.

I ended up paying for the first year of college with some money my dad left me and living in a crappy apartment that I'm still in now. I had to pay for the rest of college with the money I made doing odd jobs and I just paid off all of my loans three moths ago. Life hasn't exactly been a picnic since I've been here. It's hard enough as it is living on your own but finding a job after graduating at 20 wasn't exactly easy either.

When I heard the dog, Milo, bark, it brought me out of my thoughts and I looked up.


	2. Chapter 2

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Two

"Edward? I-I didn't know you were living here," I said, my heart skipping a beat or two. Six and a half years hadn't really changed much. He was still tall and muscular. His untamed bronze hair was beautiful in the sunlight and his green eyes were looking down into mine. He had on a tight gray t-shirt and khaki shorts with a broken dog leash in his hand. I guess that explained the loose golden retriever sitting at his feet.

Edward started talking and it brought me out of my musings, "Well, I haven't lived here long. I was offered a job at the Smithsonian about a month ago and I just got here about two weeks ago. I didn't realize you were out here either. Nobody's heard from you in over six years…"

"I-I got into Georgetown early."

"Figures, you were always pretty smart," he said smiling a heart-shattering smile.

"So, you got a job at the Smithsonian? What does you family think about that?"

"Naturally, they're pissed because I'm not a doctor. I got halfway through the first year of college and changed my degree. My dad threatened to disown me, but you know him, he could never do that. When I got this job though, it took some real convincing on my part because it was all the way across the country. But, here I am. What are you doing in D.C?"

"Well, I've been here since I left. Right now, I work as an intern at Wolfe Publishing. Terrible job, but it pays the bills. I've just got to work my way up," I sighed.

"Have you talked to your mom lately?"

He had asked a fairly simple question, but to me that was a hard one to answer. I looked to the ground and kicked some dirt off my shoe. "Well, um I h-haven't talked to her since before I left."

"Oh, I didn't realize you weren't talking. I figured she knew why you left…"

I decided it was probably a good idea to change the subject before things got ugly. "So, how are Emmett and Alice?" I said inquiring to his older brother and younger sister.

"Well, Emmett is married to Rosalie, from high school, and they are expecting a little boy here in about two months. Alice is dating a boy she met at school and she graduated a little less than two months ago. She went into the fashion career and Emmett is a personal trainer at a gym in Seattle. My dad is still at the hospital and my mom still has her office. Things have changed a lot since you left." He sighed and a look came over his face as if something was troubling him deeply.

"Well, that's exciting. Do have anyone special?" I said hoping upon all hopes that it was a no.

"No one but Milo," he said reaching down to scratch his ears. "I got him as a puppy about two years. He keeps me going, that's for sure. Are you seeing anyone?"

"Nope, it's just me here."

"You'll have to show me around sometime then."

"I would enjoy that," I said smiling.

He looked down at his watch and sighed, "I've got some work that I have to get done for tomorrow, so I have to go. Here, trade me phones."

I dug around in my purse and pulled out my iPhone and handed it to him as he handed me his own iPhone. I typed in my number and we switched phones. "I'll call you later," he said putting his phone back in his pocket. Just as I was about to say goodbye and turn around he pulled me into a hug. "It was good to see Bella."

I was stunned a little and when he let go of me, it took me a minute to regain my thought process. "It was good to see you too Edward. See you around," and with that I turned around and left. When I walked away, all I could think of was him. They way he felt, the way he smelled, the way he talked, and the way he just _was_.

He felt strong but tender enough that you could just see him having a family of his own. He smelt like home. That was the only way I could describe it. He smelt of the trees and everything else that would bring my thoughts back to Forks. His voice was like velvet and everything he said just rolled off his lips. And, he just _was_. He was everything that anyone could ever want.

I sighed running my hand through my hair. My thoughts were glued to him and seeing him for the first time in six and a half years. I had to make myself forget about him for about thirty minutes as a taxi brought me back to my apartment though.

Once I was inside, I set my purse down at the table by the door and walked into my bedroom and flopped down on the bed. My ceiling fan was running and it was blocking out just about every other sound. The only other things I could hear were the cars on the street and the hum of the washing machine on the floor above me.

I let my mind wander back to thoughts of Edward as the world spun on around me. Seeing him here had almost been like I was back home. It made me think of my dad and how much I missed him everyday. Worst of all though, it made me think of my mom. She was the one person from Forks that I was desperately trying to forget. No matter how much I tried though, it never seemed to work.

I sighed flipping myself onto my stomach and I drowned out my thoughts with the sound of the world spinning on around me.

**A/N: Give me ideas for what you would like to see happen. I have a lot of the story planned but I want to try putting in things you would like to see happen!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters still belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Three

My room was still dark when I woke up. I rolled over onto my back and threw an arm over my face. The only things I could hear were my fan and the occasional car pass by my fifth story window. When I finally worked up enough energy to look at the clock it said it was only 5 A.M. I decided it was an ok enough time that I could get up. So, I made my way to the bathroom.

When I got into the bathroom, I turned the shower on and waited for the water to get warm enough. Once I was in the shower, my mind wandered back to the previous day. Seeing Edward had sparked a long forgotten flame.

I remember going to spend the night with Alice and I would always be on the lookout for Edward. Alice always said we would make a cute couple but Tanya was always chasing after Edward.

Tanya was a girl in Edward's class that always seemed to be fawning after him, with no avail. It made me feel better that he didn't seem interested but it also made me think that he wouldn't be interested in me either.

As the water started to cool, I stepped out and grabbed my towel. I wiped the fog off the mirror, looking at my reflection. My brown eyes were dull and I had bags under my eyes, but other than that, I looked fine. I grabbed my hair brush out of the drawer and drug it through my hair. When that was through, I made my way back into my room.

I opened the doors to my closet and pulled out a black skirt suit and a blue button down shirt. I laid the clothes on my bed and pulled out my black stiletto heels from underneath my bed. I went over to my dresser, and threw out a set of undergarments. I dropped my towel and slipped on my all of my clothes except for my jacket, it was too hot. I carried my jacket and shoes out to the front door and made my way back to my room.

I sat in front of my vanity and pulled my hair up into a sleek ponytail with a braid on one side. Next, I slipped on some white flower earrings. When I was done with that I pulled out my make-up bag. I covered up the bags under my eyes, put some blush on, white eye shadow, eyeliner, and mascara.

Once I finished with all that, I carried my towel back into the bathroom.

I headed back out to the kitchen and got out some vanilla yogurt, a granola bar, and some orange juice. I ate and by that time it was 6:30 so I needed to get going. I put my dishes in the sink for later and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. My pajamas were still on the bathroom floor, so when I was done brushing my teeth, I carried them back to my room.

At the front door, I put my jacket and shoes on and made sure that I had my purse with my phone in it. I shut the lights off, and walked out the door, making sure to lock it. The hallway was quiet, and I made my way to the elevator, deciding it was probably safer not to walk down the stairs in my heels.

When I got to the lobby, no one was there. I got outside and I was able to hail a taxi right away. I got to work at 7 o'clock and I made my way up to the seventh floor. There were only a few other people there, and I went to the boss's office. Victoria was there waiting for me and I sat down at my designated chair in front of her desk.

"Good morning, Ms. Noland," I said flattening out my skirt.

"Ms. Swan, I need you to type these things out today and send them to all the branches. They contain all the information for the merge," she said handing me three manila envelopes stuffed full with papers.

I nodded and stood up taking the folders from her hands and heading out of her office to my own small office in the next room. I flipped the light on and threw the folders onto the desk. I slid my shoes off, set then beside my desk and then put my suit jacket over my chair. I sat in my chair and opened my laptop to start typing up the documents. All three branches had their own folder and I had just started to type the first one up when my door opened.

"Ms. Swan, Ms. Noland wanted me to give you these. They need to be typed up and sent to the address on the front of each envelope," said Layla, Victoria's secretary.

"Thank-you," I said standing up to get the folders. She handed them to me and went back out the door to her cubical. I set the other folders on my desk, and sat back down at my computer and got to work.

By noon, I had the folders done and I knew Victoria would be waiting for her lunch if I didn't leave soon. I got up from my desk and slipped my shoes back on and grabbed my purse. I opened the door to my office and slipped into Victoria's.

"Ms. Noland, is the usual okay for lunch?"

"Yes, yes that'll be fine," she said waving me off.

I walked out of the building and made my way across the street and to the Starbucks. I ordered two Iced Caramel Macchiatos and then made my way to the sub shop down the block. There I got two turkey sandwiches, with lettuce, tomato, and, American cheese on white bread.

With that out of my way, I made my way back to the office. I headed back up to the seventh floor and into Victoria's office. I set her food on her desk, and went back to my small office not saying one word. When I entered the room, there were six new envelopes sitting on my desk, all with the same instructions as the last.

When I was done eating, I went to my purse and searched for my phone. When I couldn't find it, I looked around my office and finally found it in my suit jacket pocket. When I clicked the home button, I had a message from Edward. He had left a voicemail.

I opened my phone and listened to the voicemail as I turned my computer on. "Hey, Bella, it's me. Just call me back after you're done working, it's nothing important. Just call me back, bye."

I thought about calling him back right away, but then I looked at the stack of papers on my desk. It was going to be a long day.


	4. Chapter 4

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters still belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Four

When I finally got out of the office, it was about five o'clock. It took me a good twenty minutes to get a cab and by the time I got home, it was six o'clock. I sighed as I opened the door to my apartment and dumped my purse onto the table. I made my way to my room and changed into shorts and a tank top.

When I was done changing, I went to the fridge to find something to eat. There was nothing. I had a drop of orange juice left and one yogurt, which, would have to be what I ate. I drank the juice out of the carton and ate the yogurt in about 45 seconds. The dishes from breakfast were still sitting in the sink so I washed, dried, and put them away.

I leaned against the counter and looked over to my phone sitting beside my purse. I still needed to call Edward back. Sighing, I pushed myself away from the counter and to my phone. I checked everything I could possibly check, before dialing his number.

He answered on the first ring, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me Bella. I just got off work and was calling you back."

"I was just calling to see if you had any plans for the forth tomorrow."

I had forgotten I even had the day off for the holiday tomorrow and was surprised when he mentioned it. "No, I don't."

"Well, as you probably know, the fireworks around here are amazing. I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up and we could go together. If you don't want to though I would be totally okay with that."

I blushed, "Um, you know what? That would be nice. Where do you want to meet?"

"How about you give me your address and I meet you there at ten and we can do some sightseeing during the day. I'm going to have to take you up on your offer of showing me around," I could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"All right, I live on 27th Street in the red brick apartment building, you can't miss it," which was true, it stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Okay, I'll be there at ten. Thanks Bella."

"No problem, see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye, Bella." The line went dead. I put my phone on its dock and flung myself down onto my living room sofa. Reaching for my book on the table, I rolled over onto my back. Kicking my feet up onto the edge of the couch, I flipped to my bookmarked page. I tried for a good ten minutes to get lost in my book, but it just wasn't working. I threw my book back onto the coffee table and sat up.

I proceeded to get up and walk down the short hallway to my bedroom. I opened my closet door, and started searching through it. I was looking for something to wear tomorrow. I tossed a couple of outfits on my bed and headed to the dresser. I threw out a couple more things and headed over to my bed to look at what I had lying there.

Blue shorts and an American flag shirt, red shorts and a sparkly blue t-shirt, a flowing blue skirt and a silver tank top, and a red maxi-dress with a blue body belt. I put back the blue skirt and blue shorts and came back to stare at the other two. After some consideration I settled for the red maxi dress. Putting the other outfit away, I pulled out my shoe bag from underneath my bed. I got out my silver gladiators and put the bag back.

I hung my dress up on the back of my door and set my shoes by the front door. Realizing I had nothing else to do, I flipped the T.V. on. Nothing was on. I looked at the clock: 7:30. Sighing, I flung myself back onto the couch with my arm covering my face. Then I got to thinking.

Was tomorrow a date? What if it was, and I did something stupid? What if it _wasn't_, and I did something stupid. Oh God, tomorrow could turn into a disaster. I pulled a pillow out from behind me, and set it across my stomach. I was looking up at the ceiling when I thought I would get in the shower, which always got my mind off of things.

I walked down the hall to the bathroom and flipped the light and fan on. I turned the water on and slipped out of my clothes, waiting for the water to warm up. I got in and let the water pound my body, getting out the kinks. I stood under the water for a good ten minutes before actually washing myself of the grime from the long day. When I was done, I stepped out, reaching for my towel.

I dried off and headed back to my room, tossing my dirty clothes into my hamper. I put my pajama shorts and tank top on and went to my vanity. I washed off my makeup and pulled my hair up into a bun so my hair would be curly to following day. Pushing myself up from my vanity, I made my way back to the kitchen.

I looked through all of my cabinets for something to eat, but there was nothing. I was going to eat some of the Club Crackers that I had, but they were stale, as I found out when I bit into the first one. I threw them into the trashcan and decided I had to go grocery shopping sometime soon.

It was only 8:15, and that was way too early to go to bed. I would be up at four if I went to bed now. I groaned and rested my head against one of the kitchen cabinets. I wandered down to my room and set my alarm clock, sprawling across my bed. I guess, I must have been tired enough though, because when I woke up the sun was streaming through my window.


	5. Chapter 5

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters still belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Five

I sat up as fast as humanly possible and looked at my clock, 9:15. Shit. I scrambled out of bed and tried to find out why my alarm didn't go off. There was nothing that would lead me to the reason as to why it never went off. I threw off my pajamas and ran into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

When I rushed back into my bedroom, I slid my dress on and sat down at my vanity. I put some foundation on, light blue eye shadow, blush, and mascara and called it good. I pulled my hair out of the bun that I had put it in the previous night, and it fell in perfect ringlets down my back. I took a section from each of the sides and twisted them back, securing them with some bobby pins.

When I was done with all that, it was 9:45. I slid out of my vanity seat and went to the front door to put my shoes on. After I got my shoes on, my phone rang. It was Edward.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bella, it's me. I'm at you building but you never told me which apartment you lived in."

"Oh, it's on the fifth floor and I live in number 54."

"All right, I'll be right up." And he hung up.

Just as I was finishing getting my purse ready, there was a knock at the front door. Well, at least I got ready in time. I walked to the door and made sure it was Edward before pulling it open.

And, there he was. He had on a dark blue polo, khaki shorts, and brown flips flops. His hair, what was there to say about his hair? It was a mess, that's for sure, but it looked wonderful. His arms were straining against his shirt and you could tell he worked out. When I looked behind him, Milo was sitting on his haunches looking up at me. I smiled looking back up at Edward.

"I'm sorry that I came a little early. I wasn't sure how long it would take for me to get here."

"Did you walk here?" I asked.

"Yeah, turns out I only live about five blocks away from here," he said smiling that smile.

"That's convenient," I smiled, "Let me grab my purse and we can go." I snatched my purse off the table next to the door and slung it across my body, making sure I had everything. I walked out the door and locked it up before following Edward to the elevator. Once inside, he pushed the lobby button. The ride down to the lobby was quiet and sort of awkward.

I broke the silence when we got out. "So, where do you all want to go?'

"Well, I've been to all the museums, I just haven't seen the memorials. But, I really don't care where we go."

"We can start out at the Washington Memorial and work our way down The Mall. That's the easiest way to do it at least," I said mentally setting the route we could take.

"Sounds fine to me," he shrugged.

When we got to the street outside my apartment, I hailed a taxi and heard some laughing behind me. It was Edward. "What?" I asked blushing.

"I just never imagined seeing you do that," he laughed.

"And why not?' I asked after sliding in and telling the driver where to go.

"You were always just so quiet at home. I hardly ever remember you saying one word to me."

Yeah, I thought to myself, because I was infatuated with you. And I still am. I mentally sighed before replying. "I guess six years can change a lot like you said."

Milo broke the tension when he climbed onto Edward's lap and plopped down. "He thinks he's a lap dog. It was cute when he was a puppy but now he's a little big." Edward slid him over so that just the dog's head was in his lap.

"Well, I think he's cute," I said scratching his ears.

"He is," Edward agreed, "I just don't think it's cute when he squashes me with 120 pounds of fur."

I laughed turning my head to look out the window. I felt Edward's leg nudge mine and I'm sure I blushed tomato red. The place where he had touched me felt a hundred times warmer. His smell was intoxicating the whole cab and it was getting harder for me to keep a level head.

"You look nice today," Edward said smiling as he looked into my eyes.

I looked back, and almost forgot to answer, "Thanks, you look nice yourself."

He chuckled just as we stopped outside of the mall. I went to pay the cabby but Edward beat me to it and I sighed sliding out of the car after him. "You didn't have to do that," I said as he helped me out.

"Do what?" he asked genuinely confused.

"Pay for the cab ride, I said I was going to show you around. I'm not incapable of paying for a cab," I said somewhat angrily.

"I never said you were. It was just a kind gesture."

"And I never said it wasn't nice," I huffed.

"You always were so independent," he said with that smile that made my heart rate increase.

"What are you talking about?" I asked heading toward the Washington Monument.

"You've always been very independent. I remember one time, when you and Alice were about five, so that would put me at seven, and you refused any help getting up that tree house in our backyard. I think you must have fallen two or three times before you got up there."

"I-I don't remember that," I said looking up in the sunlight at his face.

"You probably wouldn't, you were little," he said looking down at me as we neared the monument.

**A/N: So, a lot of people have been reading this story but not reviewing. I really need people to review because I want to know what I'm doing wrong so I can improve. I also want people to tell me what they want to see happen! Please help me by reviewing, even if it's only just once! Oh, and tell me what you want to see happen on their outing!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters still belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Six

People were all ready staked out on the lawn in front of the Washington Monument for the fireworks show that night. We navigated our way around the hordes of people to the base of the monument.

"Well, the monument is always closed on the 4th but this is my favorite place to look at it," I said rummaging around in my purse for my camera. The sun was in the perfect place and it looked as if it were resting at the tip of the obelisk.

"Do you take a lot of pictures?'

I moved my camera away form my face, "Lately, yeah, I have been. It's a good way to see the better things in life when everything seems bleak."

"You sound so grown up," he said looking up at the sky.

"I'm not the 16 year old girl I was when I left."

"Oh, I'm well aware of that."

He was so hard to read when he said things like that. There was no expression on his face and his eyes, which usually were bright, were dark as night.

"I wish I could take you up there," I said changing the subject, "It's really amazing you can see everything."

"Maybe, we can go up there sometime," he said like he had something else on his mind.

"Maybe we can," I agreed. Snapping a few more pictures I said, "Well, really there's not much else to do here, let's go to the World War Two Memorial, it's the closest."

"Sounds good," he said pulling Milo along with him. It took us longer than normal to get to the memorial because of all the people and the heat of the day was all ready kicking in.

Saying the memorial was packed, would be an understatement. There was hardly walking room and people were rude. Just as I was about to take a really amazing picture of the wall of stars, I was pushed down; dropping my camera. Edward leaned down next to me and helped me up. Milo licked his hand as he bent down again and grabbed my camera.

"Jesus, what the hell was that?" Edward asked scanning the memorial.

"Don't worry about, it happens all the time."

"At least tell me you aren't hurt."

"No, I'm fine. I'm more worried about my camera could you hand it back to me please?" I asked reaching out for the object. On close inspection, I could tell something was wrong right away. The screen that displayed the pictures was shattered. I pushed the power button only to have it turn on and fade off within seconds.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before shoving it back inside my purse. I saved up for that camera for six months and now it was trash. "Is it all right?" Edward asked tilting my face up to look up at him.

I blinked back tears and shook my head.

"It's all right, I'll get you a new one."

"No," I protested, "it's fine. I-I think I still have it under warrantee." Knowing full well that I didn't have it under warrantee, I sighed thinking about how I was going to pay for another one. I knew Edward was being kind and he had more than enough money to pay for a new camera, but it felt wrong to have him buy me something like that.

"You're a liar Bella. Now don't protest, I'm going to act like I believe you but I know you don't have that camera under warrantee."

I looked into his eyes; trying to find anything that would hint to how he knew such a thing, but found nothing. "Come on," he said, "let's go somewhere else."

As we made our way around the Constitution Gardens, I really wished I had my camera. The gardens looked beautiful this time of year and all the happy couples were good subjects.

The Einstein Memorial wasn't as busy, but it never usually was. There were only about six other people there, making it was easy to look at and walk around without being pushed over. Milo was also happy with the extended amount of space.

"You know," I said turning to Edward, "there's one time that I was out at this memorial that I will never forget."

"Yeah," he said, "and why is that?"

"There was a class here on an end of the year trip. They must have been out all day because they were a sweaty mess. Their teacher said this was a great place to take a picture, so they all took their places on the monument. This one kid, who was quite large, climbed to the very top. They took their picture, and they were slowly making their way back down. Well, the kid at the top got stuck so a few of the other kids helped him down. But here's the best part, on the way down, he ripped his shorts clear up the side." I said laughing at the memory.

"You're kidding me," Edward said laughing as well.

Shaking my head, still laughing I said, "No," and Edward and I laughed harder. When we were finally able to contain out laughter, Edward dragged Milo and I toward a younger lady sitting by the statue.

"Miss, would you mind taking our picture?" he asked pulling out his phone.

"No, where do you want to take it?'

"In front of the statue," Edward said handing her his phone.

Edward pushed me in front of him and pulled Milo along with him. When he was where he wanted to be, he pulled me in next to him with his arm. "Why are you doing this?" I asked looking up at him.

"Now you'll have another way to remember this place," he said as the lady snapped the picture as we were smiling looking up at each other.

**A/N: Now, I've been to D.C. many times but every time I've gone the Washington Monument has been closed for one reason or another. I didn't want to write about what it was like at the top seeing as I have never been in it. All of the other memorials I've been to so that's why there is more about them. Oh, and please review. And if any of you were wondering about the Einstein Memorial story Bella tells, I was in D.C. on a school trip at the end of eighth grade last summer and that happened to a boy in my class. Best experience. **


	7. Chapter 7

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters still belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Seven

"Thanks," Edward said as the woman handed him back his phone.

"Let me see," I said as we made our way across the street to the Vietnam War Memorial. This memorial was very busy too and as we neared it I could tell we would be waiting around a while. Milo sat patiently at Edward's side and waited for us to move with the rest of the people waiting.

"How about after this one we make a lunch stop," Edward suggested looking at his phone, which indicated it was close to noon.

"Do you have any preferences?" I asked as we waited in line.

"Just that you'll let me pay."

"Why can't I pay for it? You paid for the cab fare!"

"Because, that would be the ungentlemanly thing to do," he smirked down at me. Milo barked in response.

"I don't care," I huffed throwing my hands up.

"How about we worry about who's paying when we get there," Edward laughed slinging his arm around my waist.

I blushed and did that horrible thing I tend to do; I thought. Was it just a friendly gesture? Or was it more? From the way he rest his hand on my hipbone, it seemed like more. If he were just being friendly, wouldn't he wrap his arm around my shoulder? God, I was just going to make myself more confused.

The statues of the soldiers were just coming up on our right and the wall of names to our left. "You know, this place is much better to see at night just after it's rained," I said locking eyes with Edward.

"I'm sure it is," he said looking around, taking it all in. It was quite spectacular in the daylight too. The sun was shinning down and glaring off the wall so I pulled my Aviators out of my purse. They were cheap though and only helped a little to block out the sun.

Edward was snapping pictures and Milo was panting up a storm when I saw him. Jake. He was a creep that used to live in my apartment building and lets just say I called the cops more than once on him. I pulled on Edward's shirtsleeve and brought his face down to mine.

"See that tall tan guy over there? Black hair? Tattoo on his right shoulder?" He stood up straight and looked around.

When he saw him, he stooped back down to my level. "Yeah, why are you so concerned about him?"

"He used to live in my apartment building and he was my own personal stalker. I called the cops multiple times and they never really did anything that is until he forced his way into my apartment. He was really drunk and he got touchy. I managed to get into my bedroom lock the door and call the cops though. He spent a couple of months in jail for breaking and entering. Last thing I heard he had moved to Alaska."

"Well, he's back now. Do you want to leave?"

"No! I mean um let's just walk through and wait to see if he sees us."

"Ok, but do something for me."

"What?" I said looking at him confused.

"Move your ring to your left hand."

"Why?" I said as I did what he had asked.

"If he sees you and walks over here, just follow my lead," he said as he moved his family crest ring to his own ring finger. I had a feeling I knew where this was going. Edward snaked his arm around me again and we walk through the memorial with Milo leading the way.

We saw Jake leave and we thought we were home free. We slowly made our way out but kept up our charade. And it was a good thing we did, Jake was sitting on a bench just outside the memorial.

Edward pulled me in closer and told me to keep my head down. We turned in the opposite direction but it wasn't good enough.

"Bells? Hey it's me Jake."

We kept walking like we hadn't heard him and it worked until he caught up with us. He tapped me on the shoulder and Edward turned us around.

He looked a little slimmer but that was it, like he ate nothing in last few months His black hair was still greasy and his head was still too big for his body. His tattoo was still gross and he looked like he hadn't taken a bath in weeks.

"Hey, Bella, long time no see," he said sticking out his hand. I declined a handshake and he spoke some more. "So, it this your cousin or something?"

Edward was quick to answer, "No, we're married."

I turned into him and laid my hand on his chest. Edward leaned over too and placed a kiss on my forehead. I knew it was all to get Jake away, but I couldn't help but feel it was right.

"You're shitting me right?" Jake asked looking between us.

"No, we got together about a month after you left, dated for five months, and we were married almost a year ago," I said looking dead in his eyes.

"Well, I'm surprised you could actually find someone," he stated.

Edward dropped his arm from around me and walked up to Jake. Edward was a good four inches taller than him and he looked intimidating. "If you ever say something like that again, I'll rip you apart. Bella is a stunning, wonderful, intelligent, woman that any guy would be lucky to have. You better scram before you really piss me off." Milo growled as if to enforce what Edward had just said.

Jake backed up with his hands in the air and darted away before saying another word. I walked back up to Edward and set my hand on his back leaning against him. "Thank you, you didn't have to do that."

Edward turned around and took my hands in his, "I did though, Bella. I meant every word I said. I've been in love with you since I was ten years old."

Before I could say anything in response, his lips descended upon mine.


	8. Chapter 8

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters still belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Eight

My mind went blank and I tried to register what was going on. I came up with nothing. His hands were holding the sides of my face and mine were on his before I even thought it through. When I regained my thought process, I was able to pull myself away.

Then I did the most logical thing I could think of, I walked away. "Bella, wait! I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. I-I didn't mean to upset you! Come back, just hear me out!"

I could hear his and Milo's footsteps behind me and I knew it was no use to keep running. I stopped and waited for him to catch up. When he got to me, he turned me around and tilted my face up to make me look up to him.

"Listen, Bella, I'm sorry, I'll do anything to make up for it. I didn't mean to screw up our friendship, but if I did, I understand. But, please just tell me what I did wrong," he pleaded.

"I-I, I mean, you didn't do anything wrong. I just, I wasn't expecting that and I got scared," is said looking helplessly into his eyes.

"Bella," he said taking my face into his hands again, "I meant every word I said. I've really have loved you since I was ten years old. You're the only girl I ever wanted but I was scared you would reject me. Then you were gone in the blink of an eye and I didn't know what I would do. But, out of the blue, I see you the other day and I think to myself, "Maybe God is giving me another chance." Please, just tell me what you're thinking."

"You don't now how long I've been waiting for you to say that," I said reaching up and caressing his face. A look of joy came over his face and he picked me up swooping me around in a circle. I laughed and threw my head back before Edward set me back on the ground.

"Come on," I said, "Let's go find some lunch."

We hailed a cab and climbed in and I told the taxi driver where to take us. It took us a good twenty minutes to get to Union Station and when we arrived I wondered if we would even be able to get in at all.

I pulled Edward along with me though, and we lost ourselves in the hustle and bustle. When we got to Pizzeria Uno I was surprised to find there were only about twenty other people in line. We went up to the hostesses booth, and she told us it would only be about a half and hour before we got a seat. She handed us buzzer and we took a seat at a nearby bench.

"You'll love this place, they have the best deep dish pizza I've ever eaten and their pasta is amazing too."

"It sounds amazing," he said holding my hand in his.

My whole body felt like a live wire and my hand felt like it was burning from his touch. But, were we moving too fast? Were we going to screw everything up? What if we did and we never spoke again? But, what if everything went perfectly right? What if we ended up married with kids? What if we ended up getting divorced? Could everything go so wrong?

"Hey, what's wrong? You look pretty lost in thought," Edwards said tilting his head to look at me.

"What if this goes horribly wrong?"

"What lunch?"

"No, what we have, whatever this is."

"I think we deserve to give it a chance no matter how wrong it could go. I think we've waited around too long to let ourselves over think it and ruin it before it begins," he said.

"But-"

"No buts. Just live in the moment and enjoy what you have when you have it."

I sighed leaning my body against his and resting my head on his chest.

"You know something?" he asked.

"What?"

"I really liked seeing that ring on your finger there today. I intended to put one there myself someday." His lips were on mine again and my thoughts were blown out to the wind. Maybe he was right and I just needed to live in the moment and stop over thinking every little thing.

So, I lost myself. I let go of every awful thing I had thought and forgot my worries. For once in my life I was going to enjoy what I had right in front of me.

We pulled away from each other when the buzzer told us our table was ready. Edward pulled me up and placed his hand on the small of my back. Our table had a spectacular view of the whole station and again I found myself wishing I had my camera.

We ordered a pepperoni pizza and two Coke's and the waitress was off. "This view is amazing," Edward said looking out onto the people below.

"I know, the first time I came here I must have taken a hundred pictures," I said smiling across from him.

"I'd like to see all of your pictures sometime, that is if you don't mind," he added the last part almost as a second thought.

"No, I don't mind. I'll just have to see if my memory card faired better than my camera today. It should be fine but you never know."

"So, where are we off to after lunch," he asked changing the subject.

"The Lincoln Memorial, if that's ok."

"There's no place I wouldn't go if you were there," He said smiling that dazzling smile.

"That was really cheesy."

He smiled, taking a sip of his pop as the waitress came around with our pizza.

**A/N: I spent most of early this morning fixing the minor mistakes I could find in all of the previous chapters. So, all of the chapters should be undated and ready to go! Don't forget to review and leave any ideas you have!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters still belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Nine

Lunch went swimmingly and by the time it was over, an hour had past. Edward didn't let me pay again and I complained but it was no use, it was like arguing with a wall. Union Station was getting busier still and we made it out just as another train was coming in.

We got a cab after we left the station and went to the Lincoln Memorial. This memorial was busier than the rest, and the steps up to the Lincoln Statue were full of people. We navigated our way around them until we got to the last step.

"The view from up here is amazing," Edward said looking across the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument.

"Yeah, but this is my favorite spot," I said dragging him down a few steps.

"Why is this your favorite spot?' He asked looking around for an answer.

"Look," I said pointing to the ground at an engraving.

"I Have A Dream. Martin Luther King Jr. The March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom. August 28, 1963." Edward read. "Is this the place where he gave his speech?' he asked looking at me.

"The one and only," I said looking out onto the city.

"That's amazing," he said standing up straight and looking out.

"Yeah," I sighed before dragging him back up to the top of the memorial. We would have to wait a good ten minutes before we could even get close enough to read anything and by the time we were done there, a good hour had past.

The next place on our list of places to see was Roosevelt Memorial. We walked there and it was hot out. I was trying to keep myself cool but it was pointless the temperature had to be over one hundred.

"This is my favorite memorial," I said trying to find something to say to keep my mind off the heat.

"Why it that?'

"I don't really know," I confessed, "I've just always been drawn to it. That's actually where I was before Milo ran into me the other day." I said reaching down to scratch his ears. He licked my hand in thanks and nudged my leg.

"What were you doing there?'

"Taking pictures since it was my day off."

"Is that what you spend your days off doing?"

"Most of the time."

"Maybe, I'll have to change that."

"How do you intend to do that?' I asked.

"You'll just have to see won't you?" he smirked.

The Roosevelt Memorial was nearing and Edward pulled me closer planting a kiss on the crown of my head. I smiled and leaned my head against his shoulder. The park was busier than it had been the other day and it was even worse trying to see everything. The bronze statues, which were now becoming the same green color as the Statue of Liberty, were as wonderful as ever.

"I can see why this is your favorite."

"Yeah," I smiled, " I can never describe why it's my favorite though. I think maybe it's just one of those things you have to experience for yourself."

"It's sort of like love then."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, if someone were to ask you what it felt like to love someone what would you say?'

"I'm not exactly sure."

"But you'll agree with me that you have to feel it?" he questioned.

"Yes," I said as he stopped us so he was standing in front of me to look at me.

"So, then you have to feel something to really experience it. Like this memorial, you can't tell someone why it's your favorite because they have to feel it themselves. And in love, you can't tell them how it feels until they know it for themselves."

"And what would you say if I asked you what love felt like?' I asked cheekily.

"I would say it is the most amazing feeling in the world. And then in turn I would ask you why you had asked."

"And I would reply, because I want to make sure we're on the same page."

"Then, I'm glad we're on the same page. And you wouldn't mind if I did this then?" he said leaning down over me.

"Not at all," I breathed as his lips brushed mine.

There were catcalls from around us and as I went to pull away, Edward held my face. Instead, I lost myself again. I lost myself in the way he felt, the way he smelt, and the way he just was all over again. When we had to breath, I held his face in my hands and looked dead in his eyes.

They were a deep green, but they still shown with light. They also had a mischievous glint that seemed to light up his whole face. They drew my in though, and it was hard to find my way out.

"You're amazing," he sighed looking back into my own eyes.

I blushed a bright shade of scarlet and looked down at my feet, to find Milo looking up at me. I smiled and reached down to scratch his ears again before we made our way through the rest of the park.

Once we were outside, Edward stopped me. "This is the place where I saw you again for the first time," he said. His hands were on my face and I had mine resting on his chest. "I never thought I would see you again and there you were. It was like the stars had all aligned and you were here. I think maybe me getting this job, was fate and we are meant to be together."

"I think, maybe you're right," I said looking up into his face.

**A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up! I was really busy with family and my birthday. I don't really have an update schedule, but I'll update as soon as, and whenever I can. School starts back up in two weeks so Updates will be down to once or twice a week. Don't forget to review, I'll update faster with more reviews!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters still belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Ten

The next few hours passed uneventfully. We spent most of our time walking around and just catching up. Edward had gone to college the year I left, and has lived in Seattle the last two years. There really wasn't anything else to his story.

I told him about everything from the time I left home. Everything from my crappy apartment to my job, which I hate more than my apartment. I told him about living here on my own and how it was really hard when I first got here. For the most part, it was just really nice to be able to talk to someone about everything.

I haven't met anyone here that I would even consider a friend. Even after six years, I have no one that I really trust. The closest thing I've ever had to a friend was Alice when we were younger. When I left though, I lost contact with everyone in Forks. Even my best friend.

"You know, I don't think I would have been able to do what you did," Edward said.

"There were a lot of times I didn't think I could do it either. You don't know how many times I almost jumped on a plane and went back," I sighed.

"Why didn't you?"

"And admit my defeat," I laughed. "No, I didn't want to lose what I had fought so hard to get. It was hard enough getting into school that early let alone making enough money to live off of. I didn't want to go running home just because things got rough. I owed it to my dad to make it last longer than that."

"Your dad would be proud of you no matter what you did, you know that."

"I know I just felt like if I couldn't make it through, then I wouldn't ever be able to do anything on my own. My dad wanted so much for me, and I wanted to be the daughter that makes their dad proud even though he's gone."

He smiled, slinging his arm back around me and pulling Milo a little closer as well. Just then, my phone rang. Edward stopped and I pulled my phone out of my purse. It said the call was coming from Victoria. I sighed and answered the call.

"Hello?

"I need you to come to the office and write a report Layla forgot to give you yesterday, it needs to be sent out by 6 tonight." The line went dead.

I grumbled and threw my phone back into my purse. I turned to Edward, "I am so sorry. That was my boss, she needs me to go into the office and write a report that has to be sent out by six o'clock tonight. I have to get there right away."

"I'll go with you."

"No, you don't have to do that, I'm going to be a bore to be around for the next hour."

"No, I want to go with you, come on," he said pulling me toward the road and hailing a cab.

"Where to?" said the cabbie.

"Wolfe Publishing Building," I said sitting down.

"You really don't have to go with me," I said as Edward slid in.

"I was serious, I want to see where you work."

I smiled shaking my head and looking out the window. When we got there, Victoria's car wasn't there and I assumed that she had left the report on my desk. We walked in the front doors, and I showed the security guard my identification card and he let us through. We got in the elevator, and went up to the 7th floor.

The floor was completely empty, and so we made our way to my office. I flipped the light on, and sat my purse down by the door.

"You can sit wherever," I said indicating to the chair in front of my desk and sofa by the door. Milo went for the couch but Edward looked around while I booted my computer up.

The report was sitting on my desk and there was a note on the top saying to send to every branch again. I plopped down in my chair and opened up Microsoft Word. Edward was looking at the pictures on my bookshelf and he smiled looking at one of my dad and I at my preschool graduation.

"You look so small," Edward said picking up the frame.

"Well, I was four," I laughed.

He smiled and kept to himself as I typed up the document. When I was done, it was 5:50 so I quickly sent it out to the branches. "Well," I sighed, "That's done."

"Does your boss do anything on her own?"

"No," I laughed, "The only things I've seen here do are reading her emails, telling people to do her job, and firing people."

"Sounds like she thinks she self entitled."

"He dad owns this company," I said shutting the lights off and grabbing my purse with Milo and Edward following close behind.

We went back down the elevator and made our way out the front door. Once outside, Edward turned to me resting his hands on my hips, "So, do you want to go get a bite to eat?'

"Yeah," I said, "That would be great. Anything you want to eat in particular?'

"How about we go back to my apartment and then we can come back and go to the fireworks."

"If that's ok with you," I said nervously moving my purse around on my shoulder.

"Yeah," he said, "We'll just walk if that's ok?"

"Yeah, that's fine," I said pulling my sunglasses back out.

"So, what was the report about?' Edward asked taking my hand.

"Well, we have a big merge going on and I've done a lot of those reports in the last few days. Layla, Victoria's secretary, forgot to give me that one yesterday and Victoria couldn't do it herself, so I got stuck with it."

"Well, at least you got it out in time," Edward said squeezing my hand a little as if to reassure me.

"Yeah, I can't imagine what tomorrow would be like if I didn't," I shuddered.

"Let's not worry about tomorrow right now," Edward said pulling me in close.

**A/N: Check out my new one-shot called Why Ya Wanna if you have a chance! I would really appreciate it! And as always, tell me any ideas you have and what I can fix.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters still belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Eleven

Edward's apartment was a little… higher class than mine. It's sort of what I had always wished my own apartment would look like. He lived on the tenth floor in one of the first apartments out of the elevator. When you walked into it, it was laid out almost the same as mine.

The door led to a conjoined living and dining room, the dining room led to the kitchen and there was a hallway off the living/dining room.

Edward let Milo off his leash and he ran straight to the plush looking couch in the living room. The walls were painted a homey tan cooler and the furniture was dark brown suede.

The dining room area had a small wooden table and chairs with an area rug covering the hardwood floor under the table. The wall coloring followed all the way into the kitchen, which had nice updated appliances. The stainless steel appliances, gave the room a feeling that everything was brand new, whereas, my dated appliances gave the room a dirty feeling.

"So, what do you think?" Edward asked looking over at me.

"I think it's great," I said with a smile.

"Alice came down my first week here and decorated everything for me when I had my orientation period. I had to rein her in when she wanted to painted my bedroom this awful dark purple though," he laughed.

"That sounds like her," I said taking a closer look around. Every table and surface had some sort of knickknack on it. The coffee table in the living room had pictures of all of Edward's family and the dining room table had two bookends pushed together to make it look like a centerpiece. The counters in the kitchen had more pictures and other little trinkets.

"Anything you want for supper in particular?" he asked leaning against the kitchen table.

"No, you can make whatever," I said setting my purse down on the back of the couch.

"So, ravioli's okay?'

"Yep," I said, "that's fine. I'm going to head to the bathroom quick, is it down the hall?"

"Second door on the right," he said as he headed into the kitchen.

I walked down the hall and glanced into the first door in the right. It was an office/ guest bedroom. I walked into the bathroom and was surprised at how clean it was (for a man's bathroom). The bathroom was painted a light sky blue but it wasn't decorated. I shut the door and walked over to the mirror above the sink.

My hair had frizzed up a bit, so I ran my fingers under the sink, and drug them through my hair. Most of my makeup had sweated off but there wasn't anything I could do about it, so I left it alone. For the most part, I looked ok. When I was done checking myself over, I opened the door back up and stepped into the hallway.

The door to Edward's bedroom was open so from where I was standing, I snuck a peak inside. The room was pained a blue-gray and the only other things I could see were his dresser and the door to his closet. There was nothing out of place; no clothes lying on the floor, nothing sitting on the dresser, and the closet door was closed.

I walked back down the hallway before it seemed like I had been gone to long and walked into the kitchen to find Edward standing in front of the stove. Milo was still in the living room and I leaned into the counter closest to me.

"You don't mind that the ravioli's frozen do you? I didn't think I had time to make it from scratch," he said turning around.

I smiled, "No, that's perfectly fine. Actually, that's more than I even usually have time for and more than I currently have at my place."

"What do you eat if you don't have time to unthaw frozen ravioli?"

I had to think for a minute. Then I decided, "Yogurt, lots and lots of yogurt."

He laughed turning back to the stove to keep the food from boiling over. I stood there for a minute just watching him before he turned to me, "You know, you just standing there watching me is making me nervous."

I straightened up and looked toward the floor, "I'm sorry, um, is there anything you want me to help you with?"

I heard Edward's footsteps and I looked up. "Bella, I was just kidding but come here and help me." He took my hand and pulled me in front of the stove with him. "Here," he said shoving a spoon in my face, "try this sauce. Does it need anything? More basil, salt, pepper?"

It was my turn to laugh, "No, it's perfect. Did you make this?'

"Yeah, I made it a few weeks ago and froze the leftovers."

"Well, I think it's amazing."

"Good," he said taking the ravioli off the burner and pouring it into a strainer over the sink. "Go sit down, I'm almost done."

"Are you sure you don't need help?"

"Just go sit down," Edward laughed pulling two plates out of the cupboard.

I took a seat at the table and watched Edward finish preparing our meal. He divided up the pasta and poured sauce over both plates before pulling out two forks from one of the drawers.

He set a plate down in front of me and was about to sit down himself when we walked back to the fridge and opened the door. He looked around in it for a minute before looking to me. "I don't have very much wine, is red okay." I nodded and he pulled the bottle out before getting two glasses.

After he poured them, he gave us each a glass and sat down before lifting up his glass. "To reuniting," he said tilting his glass toward mine. Ours glasses clanged and I uttered a small, "Cheers," before we each took a sip.

**A/N: Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry this took so long to post. School starts this Friday, we just got two new dogs, work has been crazy, and my mom ended up dragging me to my grandma's the whole of last week. I am so sorry! Oh, if any of you tried reading the one-shot I told you to read and it was gone, it was because I deleted it. I ended up really liking the plot and I want to turn it into its own story when I'm done with this one. Again, thanks for reading and reviews are very much appreciated!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters still belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Twelve

Supper went well, and we were getting ready leave at about seven o'clock. Edward put Milo in his cage, and threw him in a bone before heading toward the door. He let me out first and locked the door behind himself. We took the elevator down to the hallway, making our way to the busy street.

Outside, it was cooling down and I shivered wrapping my arms around myself. We decided to try and find a spot near Pennsylvania Avenue, which was turning out to be a challenge. There were people packed everywhere and walking was again becoming a problem.

When we did find a spot, we were a ways back and I was wondering if we would even be able to see the fireworks. We sat down on the grass so we were leaning up against each other and all the other flocks of people were sitting down around us. I had my legs curled up underneath of me and my arms were behind me, keeping me up.

"What time is it?" I asked turning to Edward.

"About 8:30, what time do they start?"

"Usually about 9:00 or 9:15," I said looking up at the sky. You couldn't see very many stars because of the lights in the city. You could make out a few twinkling in the distance, but there wasn't much else. You couldn't make out any full constellations and it reminded me of how far I really was from home.

I sighed, turning back to Edward, "What do you miss most about home?" I asked out of curiosity.

"I don't know, the closeness to family, the town itself, friends, mostly just everything I've had my whole life."

I nodded looking back to the sky and trying to think of something else I could ask him or something else that we could possibly talk about. As it turns out though, Edward thought of something faster than me.

"Bella?'

"Yes?'

"What was it like before you left?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"What was it like back home before you left?"

I sighed, knowing this was going to come up eventually, just not this soon. "Well, after my dad died, things really went down hill. My mom was completely lost in her grief and it was almost as if she had died with my dad. It was a month or two after he died when she started drinking. At first it was one or two glasses a night, but then it was a whole bottle. Then, she started going out almost as soon as I got home from school. It got really bad almost a year after the accident. The cops would start bringing her home and I knew I had to leave…"

"Bella, you know you could have stayed with us. My parents still talk about you, more that I would like them to actually. Wait till they find out you're living here too." he laughed.

"I know your parents would have been more than happy to take me in, it just didn't feel right on my part. I just needed to leave and so I did. I sent in my early application to Georgetown and they accepted it. I left without even telling my mom I was leaving, I didn't even leave a note," I sighed pulling my hand through my hair.

Edward didn't say anything and neither did I. Edward pulled out his phone and said it was almost 9:15. I lifted my head up to the sky and started looking and listening for the signs that the show was about to begin. Just as Edward was about to say something, the fireworks started.

They were amazing. Every color you could imagine and every shape and size. People were in awe all around us, and so were we. Edward's green eyes were reflecting every burst of light and I couldn't help but stare. When he looked down and caught me staring and I blushed a deep scarlet, looking back up at the sky.

They didn't last but twenty minutes, and they were over. I looked up at Edward, and he pulled me closer, so his frame supported me. People were getting up and leaving around us, but we sat there contently until it seemed as if my legs would never be able to move. I stretched my legs out, and pulled Edward up with me when I went to stand. I brushed the grass off my dress and situated the rest of myself before we started off.

"That was amazing," Edward said looking off in the distance with a glazed look over his face.

"Yeah, I usually don't make it out for them. I usually just watch what I can from my balcony in the living room. I can't see much, but it's enough," I shrugged.

Edward nodded in response and we kept walking quietly. As we got nearer to our apartments, the sidewalks were becoming less and less crowded until we were some of the only people walking along. A few others were walking along, nobody that looked like they were on the right side of the tracks. Edward seemed to be holding me even closer if that was possible, and when we reached me apartment, I was quite sad that he let go.

"Thank you," he said looking down at me when we reached my apartment door.

"Don't thank me, that's one of the best days I've had in a long time. Well, except for all the problems that seemed to crop up along the way," I laughed.

He smiled as well, and his eyes were pulling me in again.

"Well, I'll call you tomorrow okay? I should probably get back to Milo." He leaned down over me and I set my hands on his neck and his were on my back pulling me in. "Goodnight, Bella," he whispered against my lips.

I smiled, kissing him before I bid him goodnight as he walked away down the hall. I watched him walk into the elevator before entering my apartment and sliding down the front door, feeling like I could scream with happiness.

**A/N: Sunday, is looking like it will become my Update day. I wish I had more time to Update, but it seems every other time I try, it doesn't work out. There may be a few other sporadic Updates, but we'll have to see. If any of you are interested in the Hunger Games, I'm working on a new Fanfiction for it. I'm going to try and write the first ten chapters before I post the first one though. As Always, tell me what I can fix!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters still belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Thirteen

The next few days passed in an Edward induced haze. We hadn't been able see each other since the fourth because of our busy schedules and the days felt like they were dragging by. Work was as horrible as ever, and I was waiting patiently for Saturday to come. When Friday came around, I was ready to leave the office the moment I walked in.

Victoria was in a particularly bad mood and I had things to do sporadically piled onto my desk. I sighed kicking off my red pumps under my desk. I started to organize my usually neat desk and put everything into groups. Everything in the pile pertaining to the merger was the first thing to do on my list. Everything else, I would get done throughout the day.

Just as the clock struck eight, Victoria came in raging about something I couldn't decipher. I caught words here and there before she threw a file at my desk and left. I peaked into the file and scrunched my eyebrows together trying to understand what I was reading. It was in Victoria's handwriting, and I was starting to catch the drift of what was going on by the time I got to the middle of the page.

Victoria's dirt bag of a husband was filing for divorce. This was her statement to her lawyer, and according to the sticky note this was supposed to stay between us. I flipped through the pages, and started typing it up so I could send it to her lawyer before lunch. The file took me a while to get typed up because it was getting harder and harder to make out her awful handwriting.

By the time I was actually done, it was ten o'clock so sent it off to her lawyer. I also printed a copy of for Victoria's personal files and brought it to her office. She wasn't currently there, so I left it on her desk so I wouldn't have to come back and give it to her personally. It was only ten and I didn't have very many files left, so I tried to hurry through them so I could leave at a reasonable time.

At noon, I grabbed my purse and went to Victoria's office; she still wasn't there. So, I went to ask Layla where she was.

"Layla, where's Victoria?"

"Oh, I thought she told you she had left early. You can leave for the day if you want to."

I stared at her in disbelief. This was the one of the first times I had been told to leave early. "Well, I'm just going to grab my folders, and I'll take them home for the weekend," I said turning back to my office.

I grabbed the last ten or so files off my desk and made my way out of the office building. Outside, it was much nicer than it had been during the earlier part of the week. I'd say it was about seventy-five degrees, and it felt wonderful. I took my suit jacket off, and laid it across my arm as I hailed a taxi. When I got home, I set my stuff down on my desk and went to the fridge.

I had bought groceries a few days ago, and I grabbed some kool-aid, made a turkey sandwich, and sat down at my tiny kitchen table. My apartment was quiet so I turned my iPhone dock on and turned it up loud enough that it could be heard from every room in my apartment.

When I was done with my lunch, I washed the dishes and went to my room to slip on some more casual clothes. I pulled out a pair of yellow-cropped pants and black t-shirt and slipped them on. I threw my work clothes in my dirty clothesbasket and took a good look at my hamper. It was overflowing. I sighed and pulled the basket out of my closet.

I sorted everything into piles on my bedroom floor and put my first load into a laundry basket. I made sure I had enough quarters before heading out of my apartment and down to the laundry room. There was no one using anything in the laundry room so I was able to get the good washer. Once I had the load started, I headed back up to my apartment.

As I was nearing my door, I heard my phone ringing and I rushed to open my door. I made it just in time to answer my phone, "Hello?'

"Hey, Bella," it was Edward.

"Oh, hey, Edward," I said shutting the door and setting my laundry basket on the floor in front of the door.

"So, I was wondering if you were going to be busy tomorrow," he said.

"No, I'm free what were you thinking about doing?" I asked sitting down onto my couch.

"Well, there's this new club that opened just a few blocks away and I have free admission and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me since we haven't really had an official first date," he said almost nervously.

I smiled, "You know that would be nice."

"Well, it opens at eight so how about we go out for supper first?"

"That'll be fine, when do want to meet up?' I asked making my way to my room.

"Well, I'll come and get you at your place if that's ok?'

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Is 6:30 okay," he asked as I was flipping through all the clothes in my closet.

"That's perfect," I said smiling into my phone.

"I have to go, my lunch hour is almost up," he said and I heard the sound of a car door shutting in the background.

"All right, well I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Bella." he said just before hanging up.

I threw my phone onto my bed, and kept flipping through my closet. It seemed as if I would never find anything to wear. Finally I found the perfect outfit. It was a little black dress I had bought a few years ago on a whim because it was on sale, and I had never worn it.

The dress reached mid thigh and the back was open to the small of my back and the front was scoop neck so I could wear one of my long necklaces. When I had my dress lying on my bed, I went to find some shoes. I pulled my shoe bag out and settled on a pair of strappy black heels.

I was going to make sure tomorrow was going to be the best official first date.

**A/N: I ended up posting my Hunger Games story so check it out if you have a chance. Don't forget to review and tell me what I can fix!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I still own nothing but the plot. Characters still belong to Stephanie Meyer. **

She Will Be Loved – Chapter Fourteen

For the first time all week, I woke up without the sound of my alarm clock going off. The fan in my room was buzzing loudly so I sat up on my knees and pulled the string, shutting it off. The noise diminished and I sighed looking around my room. My dress was hung on my door and the windows were letting in the harsh sunlight. I looked at my clock 10:30. I smiled knowing I didn't have to work before getting up.

I went to the kitchen first and got a pot of coffee going before flipping the news on. I felt like I saw the same thing everyday. One person missing here, this big shot is in trouble for this again, and here's what going on in this foreign country. I turned the T.V. off almost as soon as I turned it on and got a cup of coffee. When I had my coffee, I went out to my small balcony.

I had a small table and a set of chairs that got used maybe three or four times a year and today just happened to be one of those days. The air outside was already hot, and my pajama shorts were stuck to my legs in seconds. I slid down in one of the chairs and propped my feet up on the table, catching the occasional breeze. There were people yelling and cars honking but it was easy to get lost in my own little world in the midst of all the noise.

When my coffee was gone, I took my cup inside and grabbed a book before going back out. I sat out there until lunch and by that time I was surprised to temperature hadn't rose very much. I put my book on the coffee table before going to the bathroom and jumping in the shower.

In my room, I threw on an old pair of jean shorts and a tank top. I brushed through my hair and teeth before going into the kitchen to find something to eat. I ended up making an individual macaroni cup and got some honey mustard pretzels from the cupboard. I set them both down on my kitchen table and then went back for a glass of water before I got to eating my lunch.

After lunch, I finished my book and just sort of lounged around my place until 5:00. The first thing I did to get ready for my date was to curl my hair. Which took longer than I thought it was going to and I didn't have it done until 6:15. I did my makeup quick-like and was just zipping myself into my dress when the doorbell rang. I walked down my short hallway to the door trying to zip it up.

I couldn't get it zipped because it was stuck so I ended up opening the door. Edward was standing there and I smiled up at him. "You look great," he said coming in and shutting the door behind him.

"You look good too," and he really did he had on dark wash jeans, a grey t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. He smiled and so did I but I was dreading my next question, "Um, do you think you could help my zip up my dress? It got stuck, and I can't get it," I said blushing.

"Yep, turn around," he said making a turning motion with his finger. I pulled my hair off of my back and turned around like he asked. He tried pulling the zipper up, but it wouldn't budge. I started shaking out of nervousness and looking at my hands holding onto my hair. "Do you mind if I unzip it and zip it back up?" he asked.

"N-no that's fine," I said trying to stop myself to running away from embarrassment. He got the zipper pulled down and I felt his finger trailing up my back getting the zipper where it was supposed to be. I sighed in relief and turned around knowing my face was the brightest red possible. "Thanks," I said, "Let me go get my shoes," I said turning around and going to my bedroom.

When I got in my room, I slipped my shoes on and grabbed my purse from my closet door. I made sure everything was in it before heading back down the hallway to Edward. He was looking at a picture of me and my dad taken at my birthday about a month before he died. When he heard me coming down the hallway, he set the picture down and smiled holding his arm out for me.

When we got to the restaurant, it was pretty busy. "Don't worry," Edward whispered to me, "I made reservations." I laid my head on his shoulder and rested my head on his chest as we walked up to confirm his reservation. "Cullen, party of two," Edward said wrapping his arm tighter around my waist.

"Follow me," the waitress said pulling out two menus. We followed her to the back in a secluded part of the restaurant and sat down at a table for two. The waitress set our menus down and asked for our drink orders.

"I'll have a glass of white wine," I said looking at the drink menu.

"Red wine," Edward said opening to the food part of the menu.

"All right, I'll be right back with your drinks," she said walking away.

"What are you getting?" I asked looking up through my eyelashes.

"Not sure," he said looking up.

"Here's your drinks," the waitress said setting down our drinks in front of us. "Are you ready to order?"

I looked over at Edward and he nodded. "I'll have the ravioli," Edward said closing his menu and giving it to the waitress.

"I'll have the lasagna," I said closing the menu and pushing it toward the end of the table. She finished writing down our order and picked up my menu.

"That should be out soon," she smiled and walked away.

"Have you ever eaten here?' Edward asked taking a drink of his wine.

"No, I don't get out much," I said hiding my face behind a curtain of hair.

"Oh, come on don't tell me you haven't been out since you've been here," he said incredulously.

I blushed, "Um, no, I haven't been out."

"Oh."

We sat awkwardly until our food came and even then we didn't say anything. I really needed this date to turn around otherwise everything I was hoping this date would be was going to go down the drain.

**A/N: Sorry this is so late. I've been so busy getting back into my school routine and wrestling cheerleading started last week so I've been very busy. Thank you for all of those that are sticking with me through this story. I am running out of good ideas for things that can do so PLEASE leave me ideas in a review. Thanks for reading, have a good week!**


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